FESTARD — Festival de Théâtre de Dubréka

The festival

Every December, Dubréka changes its face: the streets become stages, the squares become venues, and the whole town breathes to the rhythm of the boards. FESTARD — the Dubréka Theatre Festival — turns the city into a theatre city for an edition that makes Maritime Guinea a capital of the performing arts.

A multidisciplinary festival, FESTARD brings theatre into dialogue with storytelling, circus, puppet theatre, dance, slam, music, painting, cinema and fashion — and opens the stage to cultural tourism. Beyond the shows, it trains a generation of dramatic arts professionals: actors, directors and technicians find there a ground for learning and encounter.

The festival was founded by Hassane Hilal Sylla, journalist and stage director, who is its Executive Director. It is carried by the Association Bouche d’Air, the Fondation SMB Winning Consortium and the Espace Culturel Siba Fassou, with partners such as FODAC, the Prefecture of Dubréka and the Simandou 2040 Programme.

The 9th edition — December 16 to 22, 2026

The 9th edition runs from Wednesday, December 16 to Tuesday, December 22, 2026 — seven days at the Dubréka Cultural Centre, with events also in Tanènè and Khorira. It is placed under the high patronage of the Government of Guinea: the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Handicrafts, and the ministries of Innovation and of Higher Education and Scientific Research are named on the official poster.

Its theme states the edition’s ambition: “Culture & Artificial Intelligence in the Service of Human Capital: Simandou 2040” — the tradition of the stage meeting the technologies shaping the Guinea of tomorrow.

Milestones

• 8th edition: November 28 to 30, 2025, at the Dubréka Cultural Centre.
• 7th edition: November 25 to December 1, 2024 — women in theatre in the spotlight.
• Venues that have hosted the festival: the Institut Supérieur des Arts Mory Kanté (ISAMK), the Espace Culturel Siba Fassou and the Dubréka Youth House (Maison des jeunes).